Chapter 2196.1: Forge of Heaven and Earth

Jade Ice Lake was shaped like a water drop—narrow at the top, wide at the bottom. An enormous cavern was located two hundred and fifty kilometers beneath the surface. It was where the gray jiao called home.

It sensed Lu Yun’s arrival and poked its massive head out of the hole, nodding and looking quizzically at the young man.

“Senior!” Lu Yun quickly descended to a standing position in front of the jiao and raised a cupped fist salute. “This junior has come to invite the senior into the world.”

He cut straight to the chase as the situation in the Jade Ruins Realm was much more complicated than what he thought. Despite how strong Terra Demon was, there was only one of him. Thus, Lu Yun came for the gray jiao.

Immortal Burial Valley, the Hongmeng Tree, the massive formation of illusion that spanned thousands of kilometers, and the personages within Fallen Leaf City all pointed to Jade Ruins Realm being more than an ordinary world of cultivation. There were far too many secrets within this world.

As the Lu Clan had laid down its foundations in Dark City, it had no say in being dragged into this vortex. In that vein, Lu Yun sought to gather all the power he could.

“Roar!” The gray jiao heard Lu Yun out with confusion. It looked back at the cave, where a pale-golden dragon egg rested in the center.

“I’m sure the senior knows as well that the Jade Ruins Realm is about to fall to disorder. Countless immortals will be arriving shortly. You will not be safe with your heavily injured self in Jade Ice Lake.” Lu Yun naturally understood that the jiao was unwilling to leave the place it’d resided for an indeterminate period of time.

The divine beast fell silent and a thoughtful expression appeared in the depths of its scarlet eyes.

“Does senior not trust junior’s strength?” Lu Yun asked slowly. “Will senior take a look at my current cultivation level?”

The confused gray jiao subconsciously glanced at the young man. Its eyes went round with astonishment. The human male had been a golden core cultivator half a month ago, but was now mid nascent soul and his foundations were secure! There were no signs of instability or uncertainty.

“Do you recognize this, senior?” Lu Yun brought out a golden fruit the size of a fist.

“Roar!!” The gray jiao trembled with astonishment. Lu Yun’s increase in cultivation could be attributed to a fortuitous encounter, but the golden fruit was truly staggering. This was a Hongmeng Fruit!

Others might not know where Hongmeng Fruit came from, but the gray jiao had resided in Jade Ice Lake for an incredible period of time. Of course it knew where the fruit could be found. A terrible Hongmeng Tree lived in the depths of Fallen Leaf Mountain. It’d thrown a massive fit half a month ago, for which the jiao finally had an answer today.

“This is for you, senior.” Lu Yun tossed the fruit over. The jiao opened its mouth and swallowed it, keeping it for later usage.

“Roar!” It nodded at the young man and returned to the cave, likewise storing the golden egg in its stomach. It turned into a mini gray jiao one meter long and draped around Lu Yun’s shoulders.

???????????? ???????????????????????? ???????????? ???????????????????? ???????????? ???????? ???????????? ????????????????????????????????.???????????? ????????????????????????????.

A trace of a smile appeared on the young man’s face. He looked toward the pitch-black depths of the lake and shoved down his curiosity. Turning, he shot for the surface.

For some reason, the bottom of the lake made his heart quail. He somehow felt that there was a terrifying creature at its bottom.

“Or.. der..” The gray jiao coiled around his left shoulder suddenly voiced two syllables.

“Hmm?” Lu Yun looked curiously at it. The jiao remained silent—it was exceedingly difficult just to pronounce those two syllables.

“Order?” Something bombarded Lu Yun’s mind and the seals of three thousand lifetimes almost loosened.

He didn’t linger after exiting Jade Ice Lake, instead raising sword light to return to Darklake. He was more than ten times stronger than when he first came. Therefore, his flight speed back was more than one hundred times faster than before. It took him only seven days to cross Darklake and arrive in Dark City.

The rules imposed by the heavenly book grew ever weaker. It would fully vanish in less than a month and no longer affect the realm. By then, Jade Ruins Realm would be engulfed with confusion.

Lu Yun quietly returned home, raising no attention at all. Of course, no one noticed as he’d said he was entering closed door cultivation when he left. He emerged back in public view at the same spot.

....

Terra Demon approached him as soon as Lu Yun returned to the clan residence.

“Young master!” He was briefly taken aback by the gray jiao on the young man’s shoulder, but quickly set it aside.

Lu Yun was good friends with the dragons and jiao when in the world of immortals. After the ten-winged chaos jiao died, he sheltered both races. Thus, it was no surprise that a pureblood jiao had appeared with the young master.

The gray jiao lifted its head and nodded at Terra Demon, shared sympathy in its gaze. Given its uncommon background, it could read some of the man’s personal details.

Terra Demon couldn’t resist an eye roll. Who has anything in common with you?! I’m very satisfied under His Majesty’s command! But it’s also your good fortune that you can find shelter with His Majesty!

“Has anything major happened lately?” Lu Yun sat at the stone table in the yard. Lan’er was already asleep as it was late at night.

“A true immortal has arrived in the Yuwen Clan,” Terra Demon replied somewhat solemnly. He was peak soul projection, but could at most withstand empyrean immortals. True immortals were stronger than empyrean immortals and thus more than he could handle.

Although he possessed the nascent soul of an immortal king, it was so heavily damaged that it wasn’t even a hundred millionth of his strength in his prime.

“True immortal eh.. That’s a bit troublesome.” A golden fruit appeared in Lu Yun’s hand. “This is Hongmeng Fruit, hurry and refine it.”

“Thank you, sir!” Terra Demon was overjoyed.

Sixth of the ten heavenly treasures, Hongmeng Fruit entailed the meaning of immortal overlords. It was exceedingly useful for helping dao immortals and immortal overlords walk the path of cultivation.

Terra Demon was once an immortal overlord, but his nascent soul was shattered and his comprehension of that profound meaning nearly dispersed. Thus, the Hongmeng Fruit was of critical importance to him.

He quickly received the fruit and carefully put it away in a storage ring. The High Lord of the Northern Sky is who he is, alright! He is able to find such a heaven-defying treasure as the Hongmeng Fruit even when wandering among a low level cultivation world!

“We need to get rid of the true immortal at the Yuwens before the heavenly book fully loses power. Refine the Hongmeng Fruit and we head out to kill that true immortal after three days!” A sharp light flashed through Lu Yun’s eyes.

The heavenly book’s hold over the Jade Ruins Realm would vanish after a month, leaving immortals free to do whatever they wished. That would be the perfect time for the Origin Sect to move against the Lu Clan.

Therefore, he needed to make use of this month to fully consolidate his hold over the capital. All unstable factors had to be expelled. The true immortal likely wanted to eliminate the entire family in traveling to Dark City at this time, but little did he know of Terra Demon’s capabilities. The nascent soul of an immortal king detected his presence the moment he arrived!

The heavenly book was still nominally in effect at the moment, preventing him from doing too much. If he set a toe out of line, he would be punished by the treasure.

“The Yuwens have banded together with the Zhao, Yu, and remnants of the Ling Clan to fully suppress us. We would truly be in danger if it wasn’t for the Trading Company of the Four Seas supporting us from the shadows,” Terra Demon sighed. A true immortal arriving in the capital forced him to set aside quite a few of his plans. It wasn’t that he was afraid, but that too much came into play when an immortal fought. Everything within five hundred kilometers would be leveled and the capital reduced to rubble.

Terra Demon had refrained from action due to concern for the innocent. On the other hand, the Mo Clan.. had vanished after withdrawing from Darklake Empire three months ago.

“The Trading Company of the Four Seas?” Lu Yun blinked.

Terra Demon nodded. “They say that their young lord is friends with the young master, so they’re here with their young lord’s orders to help.”

“It’s him..” Lu Yun’s thoughts turned to the unseeing boy with a Red Spider Lily in his hands, always perfectly pristine from the world. He hadn’t minded that Lu Yun had kicked in his trading company’s doors and nearly stomped it to the ground.

“I see.” Lu Yun nodded. “The Trading Company of the Four Seas is no small entity. They’re probably helping us because of Fengxian Wu.”

Terra Demon understood. So that was why the trading company spared no effort in helping the Lu Clan. If it wasn’t for them, the family would’ve collapsed a while ago. And no matter how Terra Demon swept their actions with his consciousness, he never found them doing anything untoward.

“Ah, young master, there’s another thing that has to do with your two friends,” Terra Demon mentioned after some thought. “Before the Yuwen, Yu, and Zhao Clans moved against us, your friends Zhao Chenguang and Yu Shuai came to notify us. The Yuwens caught them and are holding them captive.”

“I see.” Lu Yun’s expression was calm. He sniffed a conspiracy.

Yu Shuai and Zhao Chenguang had come in secret, but were captured by the Yuwens instead? How had they come up with such a flimsy excuse?

Yu Shuai and Zhao Chenguang were nearly forgotten members of their families. Although they were the sons of the patriarch, their potential was poor and they weren’t valued in the slightest. How would they possibly know about an operation as crucial as moving against the Lus?

Confining the two was likely the next step in the plan against the Lu Clan. They were up to their old tricks of using the good-for-nothing Lu Yun!